The Running Back
by EchidnaPower
Summary: All-star Running back Ron Stoppable is about to face the biggest challenge of his life. He's got just a few seconds to win the championship for the Middleton Mad Dogs, but more importantly to him, he's got just a few seconds to make his girlfriend proud. My first ever Kim Possible story, so please read and review! KimXRon
1. The Running Back

**Hey everyone...well, another creative writing assignment turned fanfiction. This time it will be my debut into the Kimmunity as it's called. My first story revolving around Kim Possible. That show was truly a masterpiece as it had a nice touch of seriousness always infused into its slapstick humor and a touch of romance to keep things interesting, particularly in the 4th and final season. This is an interesting approach for a debut I think as it's more about football than anything else, but hopefully you all enjoy it anyway. I own nothing except the story.  
**_

He felt the divots in the turf underneath his feet, the roar of the crowds in the stands so loud that he could barely hear his quarterback's barks at the line of scrimmage. Taking a second to glance at the clock, he knew that he would only have one chance to accomplish his appointed duty. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as adrenaline flowed through his body in anticipation of the events that would take place in only mere seconds.

Strangely enough, though it would only take seconds for everything to happen, time seemed to flow in slow motion for the young man as his mind raced with all the things he knew he would have to be watchful of. He took one second to glance at the sidelines, the majority of his teammates had their fists clenched and their eyes wide as if expecting something terrible to happen at the last possible moment.

His eyes then moved a little further down the sidelines, and his heart started beating a little faster, he could see that the stakes were much higher than just a championship trophy. He licked his lips in anticipation of accomplishing his ulterior motive, making a good impression in front of a very special individual.

He would've laughed in the face of anyone who would even suggest that he would find himself in his current position. He'd always been somewhat of a slacker, content to just do things at his own pace and at his own leisure, while simultaneously making sure to do _just enough _to get by. Now thanks to a certain redheaded cheerleader/world saver, his whole world had been turned on its head.

They'd always been best friends, ever since Pre-K in fact. Her Type-A, perfectionist, take-charge attitude was always balanced out by his own Type-B, mellow and relaxed way of life. She'd get too high-strung, he'd be there to calm her. He got too far behind in his responsibilities, she would get him motivated...even if that motivation sometimes came in the form of a swift kick in the butt.

He had joined the football team in a vain attempt to keep her as his girlfriend due to a severe misunderstanding that thankfully was quickly resolved, despite major interference from Prof. Dementor taking control of Kim's battlesuit and forcing him to fling her into the Bueno Nacho soda machine. Now that he was on the team though, legit this time, he'd quickly become a star player with his innate ability to dodge defenders as if they were one of their enemies' henchmen, and he never would've done it if not for her.

He saw her wink at him from the sidelines, and his determination grew even stronger. Kim was the reason behind so many of his successes, mainly because he'd wanted to make her proud, and now, more than ever before, he was determined to do so again.

He averted his eyes forward again, and they narrowed as his eyes locked onto what would be his greatest challenge. He saw the grin on the linebacker's face, smug as if he knew he would easily be able to ruin the young blonde's aspirations of glory. His lips upturned into a smirk as he noticed the mistake his opponent was making. He'd learned a lot over the past few months, including how to read an opponent's intentions through body language, and this linebacker clearly had every intention of wanting to crush him.

He rushed up to his quarterback and said something in his ear, his smirk never leaving and he felt a distinct sense of satisfaction as the quarterback nodded at him and starting barking an audible. Quickly backpedaling back to his position, he took one final second to glance at the opposing team's star linebacker. The grin was still there, and he used his finger to pantomime slitting his throat, showing his full intention to bring him down hard. It couldn't have been more perfect.

Moments later he felt leather being shoved into his arms and the noise around him grew even louder, to the point where he could only hear the crunching of bodies as his feet stomped across the turf as quickly as they could. It was a test of endurance, his legs were aching from the previous fifty minutes he'd done, and the rest of his body was even worse as he'd been pounded by his opposition every time he'd touched the ball.

The linebacker was now rushing towards him at full speed, and so he swiftly turned his body 180 degrees and tossed the ball back to the quarterback who immediately caught it and ran to his right.

Ron grinned as he imagined the linebacker's throat tightening and his heart dropping into his stomach as he watched the quarterback rollout to his right and look for an open target. How blind he was! Surely he was now pumping his legs harder to chase after the quarterback instead, and Ron made a mental note to avoid getting beat up in the parking lot as he'd clearly made a fool out of the angry defender.

Ron's smile grew as his plan came to fruition, and he turned and ran up the field at full sprint, getting past everyone in his way with his blazing speed. He turned his head and sure enough the football was flying his way in a perfect spiral, as if a hall-of-fame NFL quarterback had thrown it.

The linebacker watched in horror as the ball flew through the air, its retreating form mocking him as he was reminded of his foolishness. Why had he been so intent on getting another individual achievement? He'd been imagining being handed the championship trophy and being carried off on his teammate's shoulders, instead he could practically feel the agony of the punishment he would have to endure for blowing his assignment.

The young running back caught the deep pass and ran into the endzone just as the clock ticked to zero, and he spread his arms and listened to the crowd roar with joy as he stood still and absorbed the praise he was receiving. The next thing he knew, he was knocked to the ground by his teammates as they all slapped his helmet and shoulder pads and shouted kudos into his ear.

He was hurting to be sure, and being crushed by over one thousand pounds of muscle didn't feel good on his ribcage, but it sure felt good in his heart, not to mention he would soon be feeling a much gentler form of accolades, the kind that made him feel warm on the inside as well as outside. Through a hole in the wall of players, he caught a glimpse of Kim, jumping up and down with glee with her best girl friend Monique Jenkins, and she appeared to be squealing at the top of her lungs.

Just seeing that was more than enough for Ron Stoppable, all-star running back of the Middleton Mad Dogs. Oh sure, it was nice being regarded higher on the infamous "food chain", it was great to be able to cultivate friendships on the team, and of course being hoisted onto his teammates' shoulders as he held the Championship trophy high, that was all well and good.

But seeing Kim beaming with pride, and knowing that pride was aimed directly at him, that was a greater reward than anything he could ever receive from anyone else. He'd completed his mission, the running back had defied all odds and won the game just in the nick of time, and he'd won where it counted most: with his beloved Kim Possible. _"This one's for you Kim."  
__

**A/N: So how was it? Admittedly there are a lot of terms here that aren't necessarily non-sports fan friendly, but I think it's reasonably easy to understand. This class is challenging me to show more than tell what's happening, and I hope I did a good job of that. How was my structure? Did I successfully pull off the point of this story? Ron's desire to make Kim proud of him? Tell me how I did everyone, and I hope I made a worthy effort for my entrance into this tight-knit Kimmunity.**


	2. Fallen Star

**Honestly I didn't expect to add anything else to this particular story, but I was cleaning my computer when I spotted a continuation to the creative writing assignment that inspired the story initially. So, I decided to go ahead and adapt that one too and create second chapter to this story. Hope you guys enjoy! I own nothing except the story.  
**_

The young linebacker walked into the dank, dismal and poorly-lit room and ripped the helmet off of his head, and immediately sweat that had accumulated over the course of the past few hours began dripping off of his hair and face and onto the disgusting concrete floor. He knew this kind of room intimately, having spent his entire high school career in a room like this, whether it was at home or on the road.

But now instead of the thrill of victory he was so accustomed to, there was only the smell of agonizing defeat...or was that the distinct stench of B.O.? Either way, this was not where he wanted to be right now. He was the star player, he should've been back out there hoisting a trophy above his head and imagining his life ahead as a college football star. Instead, he was trudging through the locker room in defeat after that scrawny Middleton running back made a fool out of him for being so obsessed with taking him out.

The next thing he knew, his teammates were walking in behind him.

The linebacker turned around and expected - or rather hoped - that his teammates would start talking to him about the game, asking where it had all gone wrong and asking for advice...what he was met with instead felt much worse than that. They weren't talking to him at all; in fact, they seemed to be giving him dirty looks as they went to their respective lockers and changed out of their grimy and grass-stained uniforms. Evidently, the linebacker wasn't the only one who was aware of who had cost the team the championship.

It was supposed to be so simple, it should've been an easy win, and the linebacker knew that it was all his fault they'd lost the game. It took the punter of the team giving him the silent treatment that caused the linebacker's emotions to snap, as he snarled and slammed the side of his fists into his locker, quickly grabbing the attention of his disgruntled teammates. "Look," he turned around and faced them with a venomous glare. "I know I blew it, alright? It's _my _fault that loser is out there holding _our _trophy instead of choking on turf like he was supposed to! So scream, curse, kill me if it makes you feel better! But _do not _give me that silent treatment bull, that's the lamest way to send a message ever!"

The enraged football player carefully watched all of his teammates, but no one seemed bothered by his short rant. "Well?! Come on! I know at least _one _of you posers wanna take a shot at me! Let's go!" To his horror, his teammates simply shook their heads and turned away. "You're all cowards, every one of you! Don't have the _guts _to man up and take me on?! I can't believe I was teammates with you losers, well when _I'm _on my way to becoming the next Heisman trophy winner, you'll all be looking back on these years and wondering why you never amounted to anything!" he slammed his locker closed and stormed out of the locker room, shouting and cursing his one-time friends the whole way.

By the time he'd made it to the parking lot, nearly all the lights around the stadium had shut off. Not that he'd noticed, his mind couldn't see anything but the color red. His rage and hatred consumed his thoughts, hatred of the game he once loved, hatred of his teammates, "Those sons of-" Then the red in his sight intensified as his eyes caught onto the one person who started this whole mess for him...and this time, the hatred shifted totally and completely towards the Middleton Mad Dogs running back.

"Stoppable!"

To his surprise, the puny rusher stopped to look at him curiously, his girlfriend - the legendary teen hero Kim Possible - was grasping his arm and together they stopped to give him their attention. "Oh, hey dude, that was a great game huh?"

The linebacker inhaled sharply, his nostrils flaring as his emotions whipped him into a wrathful frenzy. How dare that punk try to make nice with him now?! "Great game? GREAT GAME?!" His intensely burning hatred for the young running back blinded him to the fact that Kim Possible had just stepped in front of her boyfriend and was now in a defensive stance. "You ruined my life Stoppable! This game would've been my ticket to an athletic scholarship and you ruined it! I'll show _you_ a great game!" He charged forward with his arms outstretched to strangle the running back to a slow and painful death, all he would need to do was get his hands around Stoppable's neck and he would be vindicated!

Of course, what he didn't expect was for him to be suddenly on his back in the time it took for him to blink. "Did you really think I'd let you just get away with that?!" the linebacker blinked again and his mind defogged just enough for him to register the fact that Kim Possible had him pinned to the ground, her arm pressed against his throat, silently threatening to press harder if he tried to retaliate.

"Listen pom-pom, this is none of your business! This is between me and Stoppable!"

"When you're about to strangle my boyfriend, you'd better believe it's my business!" Kim got right in his face with a look that could melt steel, and the linebacker suddenly felt the fire in his soul go out as her glare snuffed it out within seconds. "Now let me make myself _perfectly clear..."_

"KP."

Both the linebacker and the young woman holding him down turned to look at Ron Stoppable, and what they saw could best be described as him wearing his "serious face." The next thing the linebacker knew, the pressure holding him down was removed, and with one final glare from her, he was able to get up and dust himself off just before Stoppable walked right up to him and looked up to meet his gaze. "Finally decided to take what's comin' to you like a man?"

To his surprise, the running back shook his head at him. "If you're still hell-bent on trying to beat me up, then we're done here dude. I get enough fighting from watching wrestling and taking on superfreaks and their henchmen every week, I just wanna know what it is you think I did."

The linebacker felt his anger flare up a bit as he clenched his fists and grit his teeth. "Are you serious? You _can't _be _that _dumb! You made a fool out of me, I dunno what kind of audible you made your QB call but not only did it make us lose the game, but it made _me _look like a moron! I had a lot riding on this...and now it's all gone..." He slumped as his adrenaline high began to wear off. "My teammates hate me, and my ticket to stardom is gone. What am I supposed to do now? Football was all I had and I don't have it anymore!"

Suddenly the linebacker felt a hand on his shoulder, and for a moment he flinched because he thought Possible had had enough and was about to send him to the hospital...but to his utter shock, he looked down to see Ron Stoppable with his hand on his shoulder...and judging by the amount of pressure, inflicting harm wasn't his intention. "Listen man, I know you may _think_ that you've lost it all, but lemme tell you something, you're only just getting started."

The linebacker frowned and took Stoppable's hand off his shoulder like it was a leech. "Yeah right, how would _you _know?"

"Because I know how good you are." Ron shrugged with a nonchalant smile. "Dude, losing the game, even if it's the championship, doesn't change the fact that you're the most badical linebacker in high school football. My teammates were all over me in the locker room because they couldn't believe I'd managed to actually trick _you _of all people, and I gotta be honest, I'm still kinda in shock myself! You're the best defender out there, and anyone who says otherwise just doesn't know what they're talkin' about."

"I...you..." the linebacker scrunched up his nose and scowled. "What are you tryin' to pull Stoppable?"

"Nothing," Ron shrugged again. "Dude if there's one thing I've learned it's that honesty is the best policy, and speaking of honesty, mind if I ask where you plan on going to college?"

"What?"

"Well I was thinkin' that if we went to the same college, you and I could make an awesome team!" Ron walked over and draped his arm over the taller player's shoulders. "Think about it, I lead the offense with my mad running away skills, and with you leading the defense with your ability to tackle and chase down anyone that tries to get past you, we'd be shoe ins for a bowl game, maybe even go undefeated! And _then_ think about what kind of offers you'd get if you decided to enter the NFL draft!"

"You're serious aren't you?"

"Note serious face."

The linebacker was stunned to say the least, his poor brain couldn't even get a working thought going without it freezing up in confusion. He expected to beat Stoppable down and redeem himself...and instead he was contemplating joining forces with him in college? The craziest part was that he wasn't sarcastically entertaining the idea, he was legitimately interested. "It _does _sound good...and as much as it pains me to admit it, you had some good moves out there Stoppable."

Ron smiled and pulled a piece of paper and a pencil out of his backpack, writing something on the paper before handing it to the burly defender. "Here's my digits, you lemme know where you plan on going and we'll see if we can't work something out. Looking forward to being on the same field as you again soon my man!" with a friendly punch in the arm, Ron waved lazily over his shoulder and walked away from the stunned linebacker, taking an equally stunned cheerleader along with him.

He looked down at the paper with the numbers on it, then back up at Ron, then at the paper again and so on for a few moments. Had that really just happened? "Stoppable...you are one weird dude." he chuckled and stuffed the number into his pocket, walking over to his car and preparing to leave, but then his eyes caught a few of his teammates also getting ready to take off. With his mind now clear, the linebacker sighed and changed course to intercept his teammates, heart pounding in anticipation of what was about to take place. "This is gonna be so embarrassing...hey guys, hold up a sec!"

"Ron...I'm amazed! How in the world did you manage to get that gorilla to change his mind about you so fast?"

The blond running back smiled down at his girlfriend with his signature goofy grin. "Well it sure helped that you scared the mad right outta him," his grin grew hearing the giggle that came out of Kim's mouth. "But being serious for a sec KP, I know how he feels, kinda anyway. Losing a big game can be heartbreaking, and he probably _did_ have a lot riding on this...but if there's one thing you've helped me learn, it's that anything's possible, I just kinda channeled _you _for a second there."

Kim beamed and rested her head on her boyfriend's shoulder, hugging his arm tightly as they walked step for step towards the Sloth. "Ron Stoppable, you are becoming quite a man."

"Coming from you, that means a lot KP," Ron chuckled and looked over his shoulder for a moment, and he smiled at the sight of the linebacker making nice with his teammates, a warm glow in his heart as he saw that they were apparently welcoming him back with open arms. "Looks like this ol' running back is good for more than just running after all."  
_

**A/N: So, there you go. Now I know it's been a while since I wrote anything for this particular series, but I have a plan for a big story and I don't wanna add that to my list of projects while I still have three other multi-chapter fics that need my attention. If I come up with an idea for a oneshot, I'll probably get that done, but my big project is still a long way away...plus, I wanna see if I can get a good friend of mine and a fellow KP writer in on it too.**

**With that said, thank you all so much for reading, see you all next time!**


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